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Harvard graduates = median salary $1.86M/year?

I've been arguing with my dad for quite a while on his statement that "Harvard College graduates earn a median annual salary of $1.68 million." He said he read it in an article online. I DO NOT BELIEVE THIS, because this seems insanely high. Although he didn't say whether it's 5, 10, or 20 years after graduation, this number still seems WAY too high to me.

I'm wondering if there's any study/report/survey/stats on the salary info of Ivy League (college) graduates? Thanks a lot! :)

Do you think that figure would be slightly more plausible had it been the graduates of a few selected GRADUATE schools, such as Harvard Business, Harvard Law, and Harvard Medical?

It may be more plausible in the sense that graduates of those grad schools have a higher average salary than grads of Harvard college, but it is not more plausible in the sense of being actually plausible. And it is even more implausible as a median (as your father claimed it was) than as a mean, since it can't be skewed upwards by a few exceptionally rich grads.

and this is the most ridiculous thing i've heard in a while. 1) if you're mega successful, your salary is usually minimal compared to your net income. i.e. ibanking heads will have a salary around maybe 200-300k but bonuses of anywhere around 5M. jobs has a salary of i think a dollar? stock options and what not bring him billions a year. same goes for the google guys. these are just notable examples. salaries RARELY exceed 1M no matter what your education background or occupational expertise may be.

In 2005 the median starting salary for a new Harvard University MBA was $100,000. An MBA is a two-year degree. By contrast, a science or engineering PhD can take five to 10 years, with a few years of "post-doc" lab work. At a Business Roundtable press briefing, one CEO said his company might start this sort of scientist at $90,000. Does anyone wonder why some budding physicists switch to Wall Street?

So for all those who didn't just get an undergraduate degree from Harvard, but a MBA after completing its business school, only averaged $100,000. A science/engineering PhD might get paid around $90,000. After 10-20 years, how much would these Harvard graduates get paid, on average? $150,000? $200,000? Maybe. $1,860,000? Not a chance.

Instead of arguing with your dad over things you can tell are nonsense, why not calmly (not sarcastically) ask him to show you where he got that info? You could say something like, "That's really interesting. I'd like to find out more. Where did you get that info?" You can nicely put the burden of proof on him.

I'd make more suggestions, but I'm a Harvard grad, and my limo is waiting....

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